Bitcoin Investors Turn To Gold As Cryptocurrency Crashes

Some bitcoin investors are switching to gold after the cryptocurrency’s epic crash on Wednesday. Bitcoin’s price fell nearly as low as $9,057 yesterday after hitting a record $20,000 in mid-December.

Germany-based CoinInvest said that it sold almost 30 kilograms of gold, worth $1.2 million in the spot market. According to CoinInvest Director Daniel Marburger, gold sales jumped fivefold as bitcoin investors scramble to convert their digital gold into the real thing.

“Yesterday was a hell of a crazy day,” Marburger said. “Emails and phones did not stand still with customers asking how they could turn their crypto into gold.”

Marburger said that one bitcoin currently buys about eight one-ounce Britannia gold coins. He stated that physical gold bullion also holds attraction for bitcoin investors because the assets have much in common.

“Both are limited in quantity, easy to trade and you can store them decentralized,” he said. “Gold has advantages because there are no passwords you can lose, the volatility is much lower, sustainable growth and in the end you can hold your investment in your hands.”

Clients of Ireland-based GoldCore Limited have aslo been switching out of cryptocurrencies and into physical gold in both bars and coins.

“They told us they were concerned that the massive price appreciation was unsustainable and they got nervous about it,” said GoldCore Director Mark O’Byrne. “We think increasingly people are realizing that these digital assets have much higher risk levels than the traditional safe haven asset.”